Role: App developer
Duration: July – September 2023
App Preview: http://140.128.137.11/star/index.php
(phone version)
Third place at 28th International ICT Innovative Services Awards, Education Open Data Division
Finalist at Taipei City Science and Technology Innovation Hackathon, Weather Open Data Division
Motivation
The bright beauty of the starry sky attracts many astronomy enthusiasts, but it is difficult for most people to accurately judge the appropriate viewing time and place. The bright beauty of the starry sky attracts many astronomy enthusiasts, but it is difficult for most people to accurately judge the appropriate viewing time and place. Astronomy has a wide appeal in Taiwan, with a population of around 100,000.
In order to assist astronomy enthusiasts in judging the appropriate time and location of star-gazing, our team developed the “天動萬象”system. We combine the open data of the Meteorological Bureau with the GPS positioning of mobile phones and design the AVLP(Astronomical Visibility and Location Prediction) Algorithm to personalize information. We also design a community platform with information security protection technology for astronomy enthusiasts to safely exchange experiences to enhance knowledge of astronomy.
System Functions
The “天動萬象” system is presented in the form of a mobile app with two main functions: “天象一點通” and “天文交流區”
“天象一點通” uses “Sunrise and Sunset Time”, “Moonrise and Moonset Time”, “Monthly Horoscope and Sky Chart”, “Sunrise Forecast”, and “General Weather Forecast” data from the Meteorological Bureau, along with the self-designed AVLP Algorithm to recommend the best viewing places and times near the user. The astronomical information is displayed on the function page, and users are reminded weekly of special astronomical phenomena.
The “天文交流區” system allows users to exchange astronomical information by publishing articles and photos. This enables users to communicate with and learn about astronomy from other users, establishing a good atmosphere of communication and interaction. “資安防護” is used to strengthen the information security mechanism and prevent data leakage, enabling users safely share astronomical information without fear of personal information leakage.
Developmental Technology
Two main functions are designed by the team: AVLP Algorithm and Information Security Protection.
The AVLP Algorithm can predict the occurrence of special astronomical phenomena and its visible probability. It uses the “Day Forecast”, “Monthly Horoscope and Sky Chart”, and “Recreational Weather Forecast Data” provided by the Meteorological Bureau to calculate the visibility index. The visibility index is then used to recommend the best viewing location and time while providing observation suggestions and precautions.
The visibility index is evaluated on a scale of 0 to 100 points.
V= Visibility Probability Index
I = Visibility Index
C= Observation conditions of the weather series
O= Rating indicator
A= Local weather index
e= Event
S= Sum
Information Security Protection standardizes the format of input values in the system, filters the content containing SQL commands, and restricts the access to the database in the web page to avoid the occurrence of SQL injection.
To prevent identity impersonation, the password policy is strengthened. Users are required to use strong passwords, and are reminded to regularly change them. User behavior patterns such as login locations and IP address are analyzed to prevent accounts from being hijacked.
Future Applications
For future improvement, the app can use the popular topics in the community in order to keep up with changing trends. An astronomical instrument rental platform can be integrated into the app to enable users to easily rent astronomical instruments online to better appreciate or photograph the sky and stars.
